Making Democracy Work

Better Voting Methods

Our current plurality voting method works well when there are only two candidates for one position. However, when there are more candidates, the plurality method limits the voice of the voter and can allow for a “spoiler” candidate. Plurality is also called the “first-past-the-post” or “winner-take-all” method.

There are two main categories of more expressive voting methods: rating and ranking.

In a rating method — for example, score and approval — voters get to rate all the candidates. Most people are familiar with score voting from Amazon or Yelp’s star ratings. People give higher scores to the options they like than the ones they don’t. Different options can receive the same rating. Approval voters also rate all the candidates, but there are only two possible scores: X for approve and leave blank for disapprove.

In a ranking method — for example, instant-runoff voting (IRV) — voters order the candidates according to their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd (and sometimes more) choices. Voters may only select one candidate for each rank. If a voter’s first choice is eliminated, then their vote is transferred to the voter’s second choice.

Colorado has been on the forefront of more expressive voting methods for more than 100 years. Ranking methods were used in the first half of the 20th century in many communities, including Pueblo, Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins and Boulder. More recently, local governments have implemented more expressive voting methods — Basalt, Aspen, Telluride, and student elections at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Legislation allowing a ranking method in local elections passed in the Colorado state legislature in 2008. Legislation allowing a rating method (approval) voting in local elections has been introduced three times since 2013–so far without success.

No voting method is perfect. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Although plurality voting is very simple to understand and implement, there is a general consensus among voting experts that plurality voting is the worst voting method.

Election Reform

Abolish Electoral College or Adopt National Popular Vote Compact

THE LEAGUE SUPPORTS THE DIRECT-POPULAR-VOTE METHOD FOR ELECTING THE PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT

The Electoral College was established by the founding fathers as a compromise between election of the President by Congress and election by popular vote. In short the people in each state vote for electors who then vote for the President and Vice-President.

The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that the direct-popular-vote method for electing the President and Vice-President is essential to representative government. Therefore, our position is that the Electoral College should be abolished.

In 2010 League decided to support the National Popular Vote Compact as another method of selecting the President until the Electoral College is abolished.

A state participating in National Popular Vote would allocate all of that state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes across the country. The bill would take effect only when enacted by states possessing a majority (270) of the 538 total electoral votes.

Proportional Representation Would Eliminate Gerrymandering

In the United States we use a single-member district, winner-take-all system for our elections. The United States, Canada, and Great Britain are the only Western democracies that continue to use this arrangement. Other democracies use Proportional Representation.

BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION (PR) SYSTEMS

PR systems are used only when electing multiple candidates in a single district.

Then PR systems divide up the seats in these multi-member districts according to the proportion of votes received by the various parties or groups running candidates.

For example: When electing members of the US House of Representatives, Colorado can be viewed as a single district. Using the following hypotheticals Colorado would award its seven representatives in the following manner:

If Party A received 60% of the vote it would get 4.2 members, rounded to 4

If Party B received 30% of the vote it would get 2.1 members, rounded to 2

If Party C received 10% of the vote it would get .7 members, rounded to 1

Proportional Representation can be tailored to meet the preference of the electorate. Download a brief explanation for a description of the two most commonly used methods.

Redistricting

After each census, each state is responsible for drawing the boundaries of districts for its own legislature and for U.S. Representatives from that state. This process is called redistricting.

When districts are drawn to favor a specific party or incumbent, it can be called gerrymandering.

In Colorado the General Assembly is responsible for redistricting of U.S. congressional districts. The districts for state representatives and senators are drawn by an independent Reapportionment Commission, which LWVCO helped to establish in 1974. For more information, visit the Redistricting in Colorado page on Colorado’s Official State Web Portal.

League of Women Voters National Work on Redistricting

The League has fought for decades for fair districts in each state, recently winning court cases in Florida and North Carolina challenging gerrymandered districts. To assist the state Leagues, a national Redistricting Task Force has been created.

LWV Colorado Position on Redistricting:

Support of measures to establish an agency other than the General Assembly to redistrict the Colorado General Assembly and the Colorado Congressional Districts. Support of redrawing the districts of both houses of the state legislature and the Colorado U.S. congressional districts based on specific criteria:

Each district should have a population as nearly equal as may be required by the Constitution of the U.S., but in no event shall there be more than 5% deviation between the most populous and the least populous district.

Each district shall be as compact an area as possible and the aggregate linear distance of all district boundaries shall be as short as possible.

Except when necessary to meet equal population requirements, no part of a county shall be added to all or part of another county in forming districts. Within counties whose territory is contained in more than one district, the number of cities and towns whose territory is contained in more than one district shall be as few as possible.

Consistent with the preceding criteria, communities of interest including ethnic, cultural, economic trade area, geographic and demographic factors shall be preserved within a single district wherever possible.

Money in Politics

LWVUS Position for Action on Campaign Finance:

The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that the methods of financing political campaigns should:

Enhance political equality for all citizens;

Ensure maximum participation by citizens in the political process;

Protect representative democracy from being distorted by big spending in election campaigns;

Provide voters sufficient information about candidates and campaign issues to make informed choices;

Ensure transparency and the public’s right to know who is using money to influence elections;

Enable candidates to compete equitably for public office;

Ensure that candidates have sufficient funds to communicate their messages to the public; and

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